Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Botec 05-02-07, 12:25 PM	This is just a general question. I don't have a particular character in mind. What do you suggest as differences in outlook and personality between a druid and a cleric of, say, Obad-Hai? I don't mean "the druid likes to turn into an enormous bear and maul people" or "the cleric fanatically hates undead as perversions of nature" - obviously that's relevant, but they're more mechanical aspects of the classes than differences in the individuals. Why, then, would a person choose to become a druidic follower of Obad-Hai, rather than a cleric of Obad-Hai with, presumably, the Animal and Plant domains?
Saraqual 05-02-07, 12:57 PM	its mostly an attitude to the divine, the cleric is more dependent on the god as a personality, or antropomorphic manifistation of nature, while a druid may respect the gods, but gains his power and outlook directly from nature. the druid may feel that a cleric has to use a filter to gain power, that the he doesnt. while a cleric may feel like he worships the greater picture, and the greater mystery, rather than the induvidual component parts that make up nature in our group we do have a druid, while i play a cleric of obad-hai, and have bumped head over this many times
Botec 05-02-07, 04:32 PM	Thanks for that - interesting that you've had that very interaction in your game.
JulesCARV 05-02-07, 04:41 PM	Not to be too much of a downer, but I kinda disagree with the very premise of your question. Neither druids nor most nature-oriented deities have an big instiutional structure or rigid code like, say, the Church of Heironeous, the Red Wizards of Thay, or the like. As such, while it's certainly true that any given druid is likely to be different from any given cleric of Obad-Hai, it's also true that any given druid is likely to be different from any other given druid, and any given cleric of Obad-Hai is likely to be different from any other given cleric of Obad-Hai. I don't think either can really be generalized. You might have a druid and a cleric who are on the same page on almost everything, but most other druids thinks the druid is a nutcase, and most of the clergy of Obad-Hai also think that the cleric of Obad-Hai is a nutcase. Now, if you're looking to have a druid and a cleric of Obad-Hai (or another nature deity), and you want them to have conflicts, then there are a number of ways you could go about it, possibly incorporating aspects like race and alignment into their conflicts as well. I don't think, though, that either group (nature clerics or druids) are uniform enough to say where they disagree, if it all. For example, I have some ideas about how an LN dwarf cleric of Obad-Hai conflicts with an NE goblin druid. :) On the other hand, if that isn't your concept -- say, they're both TN humans -- then that isn't so relevant.
Botec 05-02-07, 07:39 PM	Not to be too much of a downer, but I kinda disagree with the very premise of your question. No problem. I could have said "why might a person choose..." not "why would...", but I definitely see your point that the differences between nature clerics and druids are overwhelmed by the intra-class variation, such that generalisations aren't easy. That's not to say that for one individual there might not be personality traits that would push them one way or another, and I think the earlier answer about the degree of specificity of perception of the divine is quite relevant. I'm just so nice. Agreeing with everyone. ;)